We are always fans of originality when it comes to building cars, and when that originality can be achieved on a modest budget things get that much better. So in the spirit of that, we've put together a list of five Japanese imports from the late '90s and 2000s that are not only affordable, but will surely stand out from the crowd. S13s, S2000s and WRXs are great, but sometimes it's nice to be different. Here they are in no particular order:

1.  1998-2002 Infiniti G20

Let's start with a car that combined Japanese engineering with a strong European sport sedan influence: the P11 chassis Infiniti G20. As with the first generation G20, this car was a re-badged version of the Nissan Primera, and the standard engine was a naturally aspirated version of Nissan's venerable SR20.

With its FWD layout and four-cylinder-only engine options, the G20 was never able to compete against its more luxurious European rivals and was replaced by the much more successful Infiniti G35 in 2003.

However, if you simply approach the G20 as the great handling, fun-to-drive compact sedan that it was, you'll find it offers a lot for the money. These days a decent example should go for less than $3,000, and the SR20 has no shortage of potential whether you stay naturally aspirated or go turbo. And if you are looking for inspiration when it comes to a G20 build, look no further than many examples of the Nissan Primera which were campaigned with great success in touring car racing both in Europe and in Japan.

2.  2000-2005 Toyota MR2 Spyder

It can be easy to forget there was a time when Toyota's lineup was filled with some very exciting cars, and the MR2 Spyder was at the forefront of the company's enthusiast offerings during the first half of the 2000s. Unlike the first two generations of MR2, which featured T-bar and and targa options, the third generation was a traditional open-top roadster designed to compete with the Mazda MX-5.

The MR2 Spyder is certainly not without its fans, but it's just not a car you see often these days. With its 1.8-liter 1ZZ engine, the car was not a powerhouse, but its light weight easily made up for that. And the higher horsepower 2ZZ engine is an easy swap to give yourself a poor man's Lotus Elise.

At the moment, you can pick up a decent used Spyder for anywhere between $4,000 and $7,000. Of all the cars on this list, it may be the most likely to appreciate in value in coming years.

3.  2000-2005 Toyota Celica GT-S

At the same time that Toyota offered the MR2 Spyder in American dealerships, they also sold the seventh and final iteration of the Celica, which featured aggressive styling that were very ahead of its time.

While earlier versions of the Celica included turbocharged AWD powertrains, the sixth-gen car was offered in front-drive only. But that didn't mean it lacked in the fun department. The GT-S model is the one to get — as it offered the high winding 2ZZ engine that Toyota co-developed with Yamaha and came equipped exclusively with a six-speed manual transmission.

With a budget of $5000, one should be able to find themselves a very tidy example of the Celica GT-S. For the price you'll not only get to enjoy that amazing Toyota reliability, but also one of the more enjoyable Toyotas sold in the 21st century.

4.  1997-2001 Honda Prelude

Not to be left out is Honda, whose sport compact offerings from the 1990s and early 2000s still enjoy a passionate following today. However, one model that doesn't quite get the appreciation it deserves is the Honda Prelude.

Short of the S2000 and ultra-limited Integra Type R, the H22A VTEC-equipped Prelude was one of the highest performance cars Honda sold at the time.

While the Prelude was a bit heavier than the Civic or Integra, it made up for that with handsome coupe styling which has caused many to mistake the car for being rear-wheel drive. While they can still be had for an affordable price, the fifth-gen Prelude is another car that might start climbing in value — now that demand for higher-end models like the S2000 and NSX has shot through the roof. Try to snag a clean example while you still can.

5.  2006-2007 Mazda Mazdaspeed6

When you think of turbocharged, AWD sedans from Japan, Subaru and Mitsubishi will naturally come to mind. But for a short time in the mid 2000s, Mazda also got in on the action with the Mazdaspeed6.

Powered by a turbocharged 2.3-liter four-cylinder mated to a six-speed manual transmission with all-wheel drive, the Speed6 delivered performance similar to a WRX, but in a roomier and slightly more understated package.

Mazda never sold a ton of Speed6s — and of all the cars in this list it might be the most difficult to find — but the added rarity just makes it that much cooler. Sadly, the Mazdaspeed6 experiment was short-lived. Mazda didn't offer a high performance variant of the proceeding Mazda6 models and hasn't announced any plans of bringing it back in the future. Theoretically, it shouldn't be too hard to drop the CX-9's turbo 2.5 and AWD into the current Mazda6 platform, but I guess we'll have to wait and see.

When it comes time to pick your next project car for the street or track, be sure to give these a look before going with one of the more mainstream choices. You can be different and have more money left over for mods. What's not to like?

American more your style? We've rated five cheap and underrated American project cars, too.

This year marks the 50th anniversary of Mazda's legendary rotary engine. In 1967, Mazda, NSU Motorwerke and Citroën joined forces to make an automotive version of the Wankel engine under the title Comotor.

Why People Love the Wankel

Having been around for some time, the Mazda rotary would place itself in history as the power plant of the '91 24 Hour of Le Mans Mazda 787B. With no expectations to race, the 787B donned a unique Renown livery and won the race that year, instantly making Mazda and its Wankel engine world-famous.

For those without first-hand knowledge of rotaries, there is the impression that they make great power but are very sensitive. For those who are familiar with rotaries, their impression is probably similar, but with a little more insight and understanding as to why they are considered sensitive. 

Flavored to Suit 

Like most engines, the Wankel comes in two primary flavors: naturally aspirated and boosted. For those who prefer the naturally aspirated path, there are two-, three- and four-rotor configurations available. While there are those who prefer to boost, it is quite effective to simply improve the airflow of the plates and housings and mount a larger turbo.

There is, of course, the mad idea of mixing of both worlds. Look no further than Mad Mike's HUMBUL as an example of this crazy concoction.

RE Expo 

July is the month for Wankel lovers due to the popularity of the Mazda RX-7. Like many other popular car models in Japan, each seem to be given a specific month, even day, according to their chassis code or model name. The most popular day, of course, is the 7th of July.

During the first weekend of July, the Rotary Owners' Club holds their annual RE Expo near the base of Mount Fuji. Here, about 100 owners take their rotary-powered cars for a spin around Japan to catch up and discuss all things rotary. 

RE Amemiya 

From legendary rotary tuner RE Amemiya was this fully equipped FD3S with a full RE aero package including a rear lower diffuser, tail lights and spoiler. Unfortunately, we didn't get a peek under the hood, but we can imagine a lovely 13BREW sitting underneath. 

Mazda Lupe 

The Mazda Lupe is known more as a classic Japanese executive class car, so we were a bit surprised to see one at the RE Expo. Since it was there, it could mean only one thing: It was rotary-powered. This particular version was an RX-9 version from 1977, meaning it originally came with a 12A. Equipped with classic Volk wire wheels, overall we thought it was pretty cool. 

The Baby 

Everyone was excited with the announcement of the RX-8. It was great that Mazda was going to bring back their legendary Wankel, and the marketing material promised an NA version with enough power to satisfy all the die-hard fans. Unfortunately, that wasn't what happened, and the RX-8 never really gained the popularity of, say, a Toyota 86 (FRS/BRZ). 

Thankfully, there are plenty of ways of getting around these issues, and for those with deep enough pockets, it is possible to turn the RX-8 into something great. We found one such RX-8 that featured a good mix of various parts, including NRF front wide fenders and bumper, R-Magic side skirts, LEG rear fenders and an HSR rear bumper. The front hood is made by Revolution, which covers a lightly ROM tuned engine. 

RE Amemiya Roadster 

Displayed at the 2015 Tokyo Auto Salon, Mr. Kubo brought his one of a kind RE Amemiya Roadster to the expo. One may be hard pressed to guess it is a Roadster after RE Amemiya's transformation, which includes one-off aero pieces, hard-top and an RX-8 Renesis engine. The front headlights were swapped from an Alfa Romero MiTo, and the taillights from a Giulietta.

Building off the styling designs that Mr. Amemiya has applied to RX-7s, it is great to see the same thought applied to a Roadster. 

Check out more Wankel-powered Mazdas from this year's RE Expo in the gallery below.

While we tend to highlight the go-fast nature of the automotive world here at Driving Line, we’re slowing it down a bit with this one. We’re also trading in pavement for dirt, and bling for functionality.

After being invited to John Deere’s Davenport Works facility in southeastern Iowa, we couldn’t resist the chance to get acquainted with some of this iconic company’s extensive product line. But here’s the twist: Farm equipment had nothing to do with our visit. Instead, we were treated to the “yellow” side of ‘Deere’s business: construction equipment. That meant motor graders, four-wheel-drive loaders and articulated dump trucks were on the menu.

Once inside, everything from the earliest stages of piecing a machine together to final assembly and test-driving the finished product was on display. We witnessed the cutting of 10-inch thick steel counterweights, a 12,000-pound bucket being fitted to ‘Deere’s largest wheel loader and dozens of employees working alongside robots.

Throughout the course of the plant tour, we learned things not even a die-hard ‘Deere fan would know. The facts and figures illustrated here should help put the size and scope of John Deere’s massive Davenport Works operation into perspective.

1. Biggest & Baddest

John Deere builds 16 different loaders, from compact to midsize to large, but this is its biggest: the 944K. Unlike the other four-wheel-drive wheel loaders that are built at Davenport Works, the 944K isn’t pieced together on the assembly line. Rather, it’s “bay-built,” with the same group of people (usually four) sticking with the machine from start to finish in one stationary location.

Its bucket measures 12 feet, 10.5-inches wide, holds 10 cubic yards of material (heaped) and weighs 12,190 pounds empty. The 944K is powered by a John Deere 13.5L PowerTech PSX 6135 diesel engine that turns out 536 hp and 1,866 lb-ft of torque. ‘Deere’s largest loader possesses an operating weight of 117,947 pounds and houses a 201-gallon fuel tank.

2. 8 Different Motor Graders

Eight motor graders are produced at the Davenport Works plant, four of which are six-wheel drive (the model numbers that end with a “2”). Separate dual-path hydrostatic drives (one per side) provide six-wheel-drive functionality and 14R24 (53.7-inch) tires do the biting on the 622G model shown above. A John Deere PowerTech PSS 6.8L powers the grader thanks to an available 225 hp and 763 lb-ft of torque. The 622G’s operating weight tips the scales at 42,060 pounds, along with a blade pull of 45,000 pounds.

3. Articulated Dump Trucks (ADTs)

You can find these monsters roaming quarries, mines and large-scale construction projects any time earth, rock and ore need to be relocated in a hurry. As such, each of ‘Deere’s five articulated dump trucks has an eight-speed transmission that allows for a top speed of 34.2 mph. The ZF transmission is fully automatic and vertically mounted, which eliminates the need for a drop transfer case in order to send power to the tandem planetary rear axles. The front axle features an electronically activated locking differential, which engages automatically when slipping is detected, but can also be activated via a switch on the floor of the cab (just to the left of the brake pedal).

With productivity being paramount for these machines, the only time you’ll find them sitting still is when they’re being loaded or dumping. The high-strength steel dump body is raised via dual-acting, single-stage dump cylinders with hardened steel bushing and pivot pins, and the feat can be pulled off in 12 to 13 seconds depending on which model ADT you’re looking at (the 310E is pictured here). The 460E model shown above is John Deere’s largest ADT. When the 19-foot, 8-inch by 12-foot wide dump body is loaded to its 46-ton payload capacity, the 460E has an operating weight of 163,223 pounds. The remaining models in Deere’s ADT product line are as follows: 410E (41-ton), 370E (37-ton), 310E (31-ton) and 260E (26-ton).

4. John Deere Yellow? 

Yes, yellow. And no, not the same, bright yellow found on its tractors. Like most construction equipment manufacturers, John Deere machines make use of industry-adopted, cautionary yellow paint (aside from special orders and skidders), which ‘Deere calls "Industrial Yellow." At the Davenport Works facility, some 44,600 gallons of paint are consumed on an annual basis (256 tons!). Thanks to a massive, fully-enclosed, state-of-the-art paint booth, the primer and painting process takes just 12 minutes per machine. By comparison, the same painting operation used to consume 3.5 hours in the days of old.

 5. 2,200,000 Square Feet

It all takes place under this roof, which covers 2.2 million square feet of working space. That’s 50 acres to you and me, or 40 football fields... Opened in 1974, the original Davenport Works facility spanned just 400,000 square feet, but by 1980 rapid growth in the construction segment and the addition of forestry equipment production forced ‘Deere to expand. At the present time, nearly 1,300 employees call Davenport Works home. Some 840 people are directly involved in the production line, 200 of which are expert welders.

6. 75,000 Parts per Day

While John Deere doesn’t typically disclose production volume numbers for completed machines, the company shared plenty of other figures with us. For example, at the height of production (three shifts operating at full steam ahead), the Davenport plant burns through 225 tons of steel per day.

After being delivered, steel is cut and then shot-blasted to increase its strength. Most of the steel used in production measures 2 to 2.5-inches thick, but ‘Deere also cuts its own, 10-inch thick counterweights. From start to finish, the steel used to build these massive machines undergoes 9 miles of travel within the Davenport facility. In addition, the plant’s daily production efforts call for the use of 75,000 individual parts, which John Deere keeps track of — down to the last nut and bolt — via a complex yet sophisticated inventory management system.

7. Black Light Inspections

After all the plate cutting, forming, welding, machining, painting and assembling of the equipment has been completed, various final testing and verification processes take place. To detect fluid leaks and potential hard-part defects, all equipment undergoes black light inspections. Because a lot of materials fluoresce under ultraviolet lighting, colors or light that the naked eye can’t pick up on can become illuminated during this process. While it serves as more of a confirmation of a successful assembly process than anything else, it’s one of the final quality control measures employed on every machine that’s built at Davenport Works.

Author's Note: In case you were wondering... Due to confidentiality purposes, no photos or video recordings were allowed to be taken from within the Davenport Works facility.

After going to such lengths to get this 1975 Ford F-350 home to Texas, you’re all wondering exactly what Aaron Kaufman has in store for it. After all, he didn’t drive 2,200 miles of a “Road to Restoration” for nothing! While it’s likely to take a twist or turn along the way, as any car project does, we’re liking what we’re hearing about the future of this old work truck.

Let’s start at the beginning

Aaron purchased this truck off a Craigslist ad, after it had sat for years in Oroville, California. The odometer reads 13,338, likely translating to 113,338 original miles. It’s a 1975 Ford F-350 Ranger XLT Trailer Special. While of course it shows wear, it looks as if it has been very well taken care of for a work truck.

Starting on the dentside's outside

The trucks yellow and brown paint scheme contributed greatly to it being dubbed “Charlie Brown,” and that’s not gonna change. Aaron thinks its wearing mostly original paint, which will clean up incredibly well. While the previous owner thought everything on it was entirely original, evidence has been found of a fender and grill replacement — but both were replaced a long, long time ago.

It’s Reading toolbox unit situated on the F-350s trailer package with extended wheelbase is rare. “Not that it makes it valuable, it just makes it cool,” says Aaron. Just a few thousand were produced as Trailer Specials, but this one is a super cab, fully loaded Ranger XLT with 140” wheelbase, “which was all of the options. I’ve heard as little as 1,250 of them were produced this way, but haven’t been able to verify that yet.”

But what’s going on under the F-350's hood?

“It’s hard to dump the original 460 and C6, since they run so good… but we are,” Aaron informs us. “I’m going to put a Cummins in it and will probably eventually convert it to a four-wheel drive.” He assures us the truck won’t get jacked up, but will live its life squatty and riding on its Nitto Dura Grapplers. “It can’t be a big monster truck, because we’re going to work this thing just like I do my ’05 truck.”

All photos by Brandon LaJoie.

Aaron Kaufman’s new business venture, Arclight Fabrication, will be manufacturing parts and providing aftermarket support to the ’57-79 Ford truck, so we’re sure we’ll be finding an Arclight chassis underneath this truck too.

Follow Aaron Kaufman’s roadtrip from Cali to Texas after buying this F-350 pick-up.

In celebration of the 50th anniversary of the Mazda rotary engine, we brought you coverage of Rotary Owners' RE Expo from the base of Mount Fuji. Our next stop: the legendary Tsukuba Circuit for the 7th Annual Mazda Tuning Festa.

While the RE Expo had plenty of street cars, the Mazda Tuning Festa was much more about track-tuned Mazdas. The run groups were broken into three classes: tuning shop grip, street and drift — each allotted four 20-minute sessions. This gave the drivers plenty of seat time and would challenge their cars cooling systems as temperatures soared above 90 degrees Fahrenheit.

Legends

The first group to attack Tsukuba were the tuning shops' cars. On the track were rotary builds from legendary shops like RE Amemiya, Scoot Sports, Pan Speed and Auto Rescue Izu.

One of the huge advantages of the rotary engine is its small size, enabling it to be installed in just about anything. RE Amemiya brought both a Lotus Europa equipped with a 3-Rotor naturally aspirated engine along with the famous Chantez equipped with a 13B naturally aspirated engine.

It was hard to pick a favorite, but we were quite smitten by the Wonderland Mazda Autozam AZ-1. With its gull-wing doors and a rather soft-appearing suspension, we really enjoyed watching it go around the track and hang with the big boys.

Street-Tuned

The Mazda Tuning Festa is a great opportunity for owners to try their hand in driving Tsukuba Circuit. Mazdas ranging from street-legal, track-tuned FD3S RX7s to a family-friendly MPV were all given time on the track. The RX family was almost complete with SA22s, FCs, FD3s and RX-8s all represented. The silver FD3S with the RE Amemiya Super GReddy 3 body was definitely a fan favorite.

Drift

A day at Tsukuba would feel incomplete without drifting. Thankfully, RE Amemiya, Mad Face and Densokai brought several of their cars for the drift sessions, joined by Mr. Suzuki from team Sexy Knights and D1 Ladies League driver Ms. Sugawara. Most of the time, it was Ms. Sugawara leading the drift train with Mr. Suzuki always in close proximity.

Parking Lot Gold

You cannot attend an event like Mazda Tuning Festa without checking out the parking lot. We found plenty of head-turning of RX7s in the parking lot, from a bright pink FD to several classic RE Amemiya FCs.

For those in the area that were able to get out of work, Mazda Tuning Festa was a great way to spend 7's day! How did you celebrate?

Check out the photo gallery at the top for more rotary goodness.

I crept through the parking lot unsuspected, moving silently on electric power, as if I was driving a Prius. The copper-wrapped LC didn’t catch anyone’s attention until I passed a group of guys in their early 20s who flagged me down to ask me about the car. Their first question: “Hey, where’s the sound?" To the group’s disappointment, I had to let them know that I was driving the LC500h — a V6 hybrid and not the 471-horsepower V8 version.

This particular LC definitely looks loud. It was customized by the Lexus Western Area office to run in the goldRush Rally, alongside a customized V8 LC500. Fresh off the Rally, the car was still covered in event sponsor stickers over its Satin Copper 3M wrap. Its Vorsteiner carbon fiber front lip, rear wing and 21-inch V-FF 103 wheels, also by Vorsteiner, give the car a more aggressive stance and complement the already gorgeous exterior. Its true-to-concept design makes it look fast when parked. With Vorsteiner already on board with LC parts, it will be exciting to see what other companies will do with the LC at the SEMA Show this year.

Regardless of what is under the hood, the LC is a showstopper. Based off the 2017 LF-LC concept car, the production LC is nine-tenths of the concept car’s design, right down to the jet fighter afterburner-inspired taillights. There’s nothing else like it on the road today.

Pop open the door handle and slide your rear end into the plush but supportive front seat. It’s like wrapping yourself in a cocoon of leather and Alcantara. Glance at the dashboard of swooping lines and dials. It’s an interior as beautiful to look at as the exterior.

The LC500h looks the part of an exotic car, and under 20 mph it's as easy to drive as a Prius. Push the start button, and you'd hardly know that it's on. You can glide past parked cars without setting off any car alarms. When the road opens up, the Multistage Hybrid System smoothly transfers power from the battery to the 354-horsepower 3.5-liter V6, without the lag commonly associated with other hybrids.

Move the drive dial into Sport/Sport+ mode, and that's where the Prius similarities end. Although it doesn’t pack the LC500’s angry V8, the LC500h will scoot when needed. The 4,435-pound coupe will go from 0 to 60 in 4.7 seconds in Sport+ mode (0.3 seconds slower than the V8) while still averaging 35 mpg — numbers that wouldn’t be possible without the multistage hybrid system and 10-speed transmission.

The LC500h won’t be a great family car. It won’t help you bring home a coffee table from Ikea. Neither of those things are why LC shoppers will be buying the car, anyway.

What the LC500h excels at is being a luxury coupe — something in which Lexus is an expert. The hybrid motor is perfect for traffic and driving around town. The luxurious interior, crystal clear sound system, well-tuned suspension and 10-speed transmission make it an excellent grand tourer when the road opens up — perfect for what most LC500h owners will use it for.

So, when is a V6 hybrid better than a V8?

When you can drive a car that looks this good without being annoying and upsetting unwanted ears. While the V8 LC500 packs more horsepower and has the sound to back it up, I believe the LC500h will end up in more driveways, as it lets you look the part while still being discrete.

Inside and out it’s a car that is every bit as good as it looks. It may carry a starting price of $96,000, and sure, you can get a 911, Aston Martin, S-Class coupe or others at that starting price, but none of those cars will offer the same value or stand out from the crowd like the LC500h.

As if we need a reason to hang out with a bunch of Jeeps down by the ocean... This weekend we headed to the 3rd Annual KMC Jeep Bash in Long Beach, California, to check out all the rigs lined up at Shoreline Aquatic Park. The event was just about all you could ask for in a Jeep meet: 250 Jeeps, food trucks, a great vendor row and a huge raffle with awesome prizes.

Since 2015, EVO Manufacturing has teamed up with Jeep, KMC Wheels and Nitto Tire to bring Jeeps of all kinds together in a picturesque setting across from the Queen Mary. In typical Jeep fashion, no two were alike. The West Coast definitely brought the big toys out to play this year — featuring some of our favorite rigs, including Mel Wade's Spicy Chicken and KMC's Black Badger.

Browse through the photo gallery above and let us know which Jeep is your favorite in the comments below!

The concept of grinding your Jeep over boulders for fun sounds pretty crazy to those who’ve never experienced the joy of rockcrawling. Sure, it’s a great way to peel back layers of sheetmetal and grind paint to oblivion, but it’s simply part of the off-road experience for many. One way to protect your rig’s sheetmetal is by equipping it with some sort of rocker guard protection. Since the rockers are one of the lowest areas on a given vehicle, they are often the first to get damaged off-road.

While there are a few effective ways at protecting your rocker panels, one of the most popular for the ’97 to ’06 Jeep Wrangler TJ is by attaching a set of sliders directly to the Jeep’s tub. By securing the sliders to the tub instead of the frame, you don’t sacrifice ground clearance. This isn’t always a feasible option on heavier vehicles, but given the TJ is pretty light, it works just fine. To get a closer look at one of the more popular rocker guards sets on the market, we stopped by to check out a set of Fab Fours TJ Rock Sliders being installed on our favorite Farm Jeep.

While the video above offers an overview into the install process, we’re breaking down the highlights in the article below.

Since the sliders were being mounted on a ’00 Jeep Wrangler Sahara, the Sahara’s side modeling trim pieces needed to be removed. While the outer portion is easy to slide off, you will need to drill out the rivets that keep the panel guide in place.

To install the rocker guards, use a floor jack and block of wood to evenly and firmly support the sliders under the Jeep’s tub. Once you have made certain that the sliders are level, use a center punch and mark the hole on the outside of the body.

Once you drill out the holes along the side of the tub, you can install the countersunk Allen-head hardware. At this point, you can snug the bolts and remove the floor jack from under the Jeep.

Taking the bulk of the load from below are a total of five grade 8 bolts spread along the rear and middle sections of the sliders. These accommodate the hardware, the holes will need to be drilled from beneath the Jeep. Since there holes are already cutout in the sliders, you’ll only need to drill through the Jeep’s sheetmetal.

Also securing the sliders in place from the bottom are a host of self-tapping sheetmetal screws. These offer a good source of added bracing without needing to tie the sliders to the frame. 

An extra step that’s recommended is running a bead of RTV silicone along the top of the slider to help prevent debris from getting between the slider and the tub. We like to run a small bead with the silicone tube, then smooth it out with our finger.

The 3/16-inch steel rock sliders come fit with a two-stage matte-black powdercoat finish. This particular set were optioned with the 1¾-inch tube bar, which works great as a step and extra kick-out to prevent obstacles from damaging your door.

While there’s not a lot of rocks at the farm to bash the sliders against, it doesn’t mean they aren’t being used. For the added protection and easy of install, we definitely say Fab Fours is worth a look if your Jeep is in need of sliders.

Looking to upgrade your 4x4? Be sure you don’t make these 10 common 4x4 builder mistakes!

Tucked in the hills just a few miles north of the beach city of Santa Cruz and about 30 minutes south of Silicon Valley sits the quiet, picturesque town of Scotts Valley, California. It's a lovely, tranquil place that's separated just enough from the hustle and bustle of the Bay Area.

Disturbing the peace once a month during the summer, Scotts Valley fills up with high performance cars, classics and other automotive icons that gather outside the large building with the word "Canepa" written across the side.

Inside that building sits one the most amazing automotive facilities you'll ever see, and on the second Saturday of each month, from April to October, Canepa hosts its own take on the popular Cars & Coffee meet — and nobody does it like they do.

Canepa Cars & Coffee has been going on for a few years now, starting out as a small Saturday morning hangout. Recently its grown into a full-fledged extravaganza, packing Canepa's parking lot, along with a couple adjacent lots, full of enthusiast vehicles.

But that's just the start. What sets Canepa's meet apart from others is the fact that the place also opens its doors to the public, allowing gearheads to poke around inside its stunning workshop and showroom. I use no exaggeration when I say Canepa is home to one of world's greatest restoration shops and car collections. You'll see what I mean shortly.

But let's not get ahead of ourselves. For now let's just focus on the cool stuff going on outside, and boy was there a lot of it.

Mid-summer mornings in coastal California can be cool and foggy, but that wasn't the case this particular Saturday morning. It was sunny and warm — maybe a little too warm in fact. The temperature didn't seem to have any impact on the crowd's enthusiasm or turnout.

As is usually the case with a good Cars & Coffee event, the variety of participating vehicles was huge. Whether it was brand new supercars, like the McLaren 720S, factory-restored classics, or traditional hot rods built to meticulous standards.

Take this image for example — a shiny new Ford Focus RS, a Mazda Miata and a vintage Porsche 911 parked alongside each other. This just scratches the surface of the diverse selection of cars that came together for this month's meet.

By 7:45am, all of the spots in Canepa's parking lot were full, with additional cars still continuing to pile in to the adjacent streets and parking lots. With turnout increasing by the month, it's clear that the secret is out. This is one of NorCal's greatest car events.

Since Porsche is one the brands Bruce Canepa and his outfit are known for, it only makes sense that these meets would be heavy on P-Cars. Whether air-cooled or water-cooled, there was no shortage of 911s this time around.

While it's certainly fun to see all of the high-end European sports cars and other exclusive machines, Canepa's events also welcome slightly more attainable machines, like this badass Chevy Vega wagon sporting a mean '70s street machine look.

While on the subject of homebuilt enthusiast vehicles, this month's meet also included some especially cool engine-swapped project cars, like this rather unassuming Volvo.

Which just happened to have a very tidy looking LS swap hiding under its hood. This is NOT your typical Bay Area hipster Volvo.

Equally cool was the following Datsun 510 sporting a decidedly old school BRE-inspired look. But that doesn't look like a period correct motor there under the hood...

Indeed it isn't — that's a Honda F20C swap donated by a courageous S2000. There's something very cool about the vintage look matched with a modern VTEC powerplant.

Everyone is sure to have their own definition of what an effective sleeper build is — but this square body stepside Chevy fits with my own interpretation of the concept.

Sure it's got an aggressive stance and some decently sized rubber in the rear, but most people were surprised when they looked under the hood and saw that its rocking supercharged LS9 power.

Here's another pickup, albeit of a completely different type. There's something about a tastefully done VW Caddy like this one that gets my attention every time.

Representing that same great time period was a very clean third-gen Chevy Camaro. A once common car that's becoming increasingly rare on the roads of California, especially as clean as this one.

I've long been of the opinion that Northern California's car culture is every bit as good as that of Los Angeles and Southern California, and events like Canepa Cars & Coffee only continue to prove that.

Old or new, imported or domestic, expensive or affordable — this really is Cars & Coffee the way it was meant to be experienced.

And as great as all of this is - it's just the icing on the cake. Because the real fun begins when you walk inside the doors and start soaking up all of the magic going on inside the building.

That's where we'll be going next time, so stay tuned because we are about to see what really takes Canepa Cars & Coffee to the next level.

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Whether you consider yourself a manufacturer devotee, era enthusiast or an all-accepting automotive aficionado, everyone has that one type of vehicle they are ultimately most fond of. For Bryan Wenger, his automotive passion has always been with classic muscle cars. But after having a number of friends buy and modify modern muscle cars to be competitive autocross beasts, as well as track cars and trophy-worthy show cars, he decided to branch out a bit and buy a fifth-generation Camaro of his own to build — and he hasn't looked back since!

“This is my first late-model muscle car, and after building this car, I am hooked on the performance and handling of the newer cars,” Bryan told us.

Bryan has owned classic muscle cars since high school as well as a few other oddball vehicles, like a V8 Vega pro street and a 1923 T-bucket. But there was just something so appealing about the modern muscle genre that he couldn't say no to.

Enter his 2012 45th Anniversary Edition Camaro.

While the 45th Anniversary Edition Camaro comes equipped with a handful of performance goodies straight from the factory, Bryan wanted his to exceed expectations and take on more of an autocross/track persona. To build the car in such a way, Bryan started with suspension upgrades, followed by upgrades such as headers, a tune and a cam swap, and finally, a supercharger.

Now outfitted for both drag racing and autocross competitions, Bryan's Camaro features a slew of BMR Suspension components, including a BMR swaybar and end links up front, a BMR swaybar, toe rods and solid cradle bushings out back. The car also features BMR rear adjustable control arms and 1-inch lowering springs tied to the stock shocks.

Giving the car plenty of pavement gripping power on the daily are 275/40/R20 (front) and 315/35/R20 (rear) Nitto Invos wrapped around 20x10-inch and 20x11-inch black MRR Design 228 wheels with a ZL1 offset.

“I put the Invos on the Camaro because all the reviews I found said they were a great all-around tire for street driving and autocross/track days,” explained Bryan. “They are also very competitively priced and have lasted well.”

When Bryan wants to take the car to the drag strip, he swaps out the rear tires with 275/40/20 NT555R competition drag radials. Stopping power for the car is provided by powder-coated Brembo brakes with Hawk pads.

Under the hood, the Camaro sports its original L99 Chevy V8, but this powerhouse is far from stock. Not only did Bryan modify the V8 with DOD and VVT delete kits, but he also fitted the car with a Brian Tooley Stage 3 Positive Displacement camshaft, Kooks headers and a Doug Thorley cat-back exhaust system (with cat delete). The latest modification done to the Camaro was the addition of a Magnuson Heartbeat supercharger running 9 psi of boost.

“This car is extremely fun to drive,” Bryan told us. “My son or wife can cruise it around, and it drives like stock. [But] it is very competitive at autocross and track events we attend. Last year at Bandimere, we ran a 12.94 at 110 mph. At the time, the car putting down 413 rwhp. This winter we installed the Magnuson Heartbeat supercharger and new Brian Tooley Stage 3 Positive Displacement cam. Now the car is putting down 640 rwhp, and we hope to put the car in the 11s.”

Backing the upgraded L99 is a 6L80 automatic transmission with a Circle D 3600 stall, which pushes those 640 ponies to the pavement via a stock rearend, featuring 3.45 gears.

Aesthetically, the Camaro remains relatively stock under its special Carbon Flash Metallic 45th Anniversary Edition paint scheme, but that hasn't prevented Bryan from adding a few things here and there to make the car more to his custom tastes. Up front, the car boasts a ZL1 grille, ORACLE side marker lights and NightOwl color-shift Halo headlights. Another subtle detail are the blacked-out Bowties both front and rear.

The interior of the Camaro follows suit, maintaining its black leather interior with special edition blue and red stitching. The car also features a Brey-Krause harness bar and G-Force 5-point harnesses, Aeroforce dual pillar gauges and an AEM wideband O2 gauge.

A pretty sweet car on and off the autocross course, drag strip and show circuit — we can't wait to see what Bryan's Camaro can do in competition this year, including on the autocross course at the Goodguys Colorado Nationals. If his recent accomplishments at the Sturgis Camaro Rally are any indication (over 800 miles put on the car, autocrossing all day Friday and winning the Street Class at the drag strip that night), we have no doubt he'll be seeing many winning runs in his future!

Bryan would like to thank the following people for their help on the car: “Brian Tremblay at WYO Speed for all the great work and Calvin with Precision Tuning Concepts for dialing in the tune.”

Most people in the U.S. know the Honda Accord as one of the country's best selling vehicles and a dependable choice to haul your family around — but the car has always been a little more than that. When optioned correctly, the Accord is a car that's always had some solid enthusiast cred. With the debut of the new 10th-generation car for the 2018 model year, Honda has taken that even further.

Set to go on sale this fall, the all-new 2018 Accord marks a big departure from its predecessor, with a wider, lower stance and fastback profile. There are also major changes to the car's powertrain options.

Gone are the naturally aspirated 2.4-liter four-cylinder and 3.5-liter V6 from the current car. In their place? An all-turbocharged engine lineup. Base models will use a 192-horsepower variant of Honda's 1.5-liter turbo four mated to either a CVT or a six-speed manual transmission. And replacing the old V6 is a 2.0-liter turbo four-cylinder, available with a six-speed stick or 10-speed automatic. As before, a hybrid variant will also be available.

The 252-horsepower 2.0 turbo will be the enthusiast choice. Seeing as it's a de-tuned version of the engine in the Civic Type R, it should have no shortage of performance potential. And with the choice of a manual transmission, the result should be a pretty fun family car.

Aside from the changes to the styling and powertrains, the interior is also completely redesigned with more space and more tech features — stuff that's on par for the course with any new car release these days. Additionally, Honda says the new Accord will be up 176 pounds lighter than the current car.

While the lovely K24 and V6 options will be missed, the 10th-generation Accord seems like it will continue the car's tradition of mixing the fun and the practical, and for some it could prove to be a Civic Type R in a family car wrapper.

Whenever drifting is mentioned online, there always seems to be a keyboard warrior claiming that the sport is either dead, or on it's way out. Many want to blame the sponsors, the high-horsepower builds of Formula Drift, the ubiquity of V8 swaps or the changes in technique from traditional Japanese drifting. They argue that the purity of the sport has been lost, and that true grassroots drifting is all but over.

A visit to one of iTrack Motorsport's Open Drift events, however, proved otherwise. Drivers from all skill levels spent the day practicing, testing equipment and even getting some tandem runs in. Grassroots events like these are held all across the country and provide enthusiasts with a chance to get their feet wet in the sport.

Just remember these five things before you head out to the track:

1. Safety first!

The most important thing to remember in any form of racing is to stay safe. iTrack Motorsports requires all drivers to have a Snell SA2010 or higher rated helmet. 

2. Pick your poison.

While choosing the perfect drift car is a debate better left for Facebook, beginners are lucky in that they won't need perfection to get started. A rear-wheel-drive orientation is a must, but the options are nearly endless from there. Track events will require a safety inspection that confirms your wheels, tires, steering components, engine, brakes and safety equipment are in safe, working order.

3. Bring plenty of rubber.

While not an absolute must, it's a good idea to have at least one extra set of wheels and tires for the day. A successful day of drifting will wear through tires quickly, and having spares could mean ending your day early or drifting into the night. This is not the time to be picky! Many drivers find it easier to use OEM wheels or replica wheels as spares to keep expenses down. 

4. Prepare for the worst.

The high stresses of aggressive driving coupled with older cars are a recipe for trouble. By having a set of tools handy and buying common replacement parts beforehand, drivers can minimize their time spent off the track. Be familiar with your vehicle, and be ready to repair common issues associated with drifting before you arrive.

5. Consider a tow pig.

While some drivers choose to drive their car to the track, the specialization of a car for drifting will increasingly make it less convenient to drive on the street. This Ford F-250 with Nitto 420S tires makes for a perfect hauler.

Professional drifting is certainly a blast to watch, but grassroots drifting doesn't need to be about big-money builds and flashy sponsors.

Check out the gallery below to see the huge variety of cars that drivers brought out to iTrack Motorsport's Open Drift event.

As mentioned during our our coverage of Cars & Coffee meet at Canepa in Scott's Valley, California, the cars gathered outside in the parking lot are just the start of the fun. What really makes the events special is getting the chance to get a detailed look inside the gigantic shop that does everything from classic car sales and maintenance to ground up restorations and vintage race car preparation. It's a place you can visit dozens of times and see something different on each occasion — a true gearhead paradise.

Here are five things in particular that stuck out during last weekend's visit:

1. ALL the 959s

While Canepa handles all sorts of road and race vehicles, the company is especially known for its Porsche expertise. And when it comes to desirable Porsche models, few can touch the iconic 959.

It was a car truly ahead of its time and today is considered one of the brand's most influential production models. With less than 350 examples produced in total it's also one of the rarest... but you wouldn't know that after visiting Canepa.

Years ago Bruce Canepa was influential in converting the 959 to comply with U.S. emission laws, and ever since his facility has been known as America's 959 headquarters.

On any given visit you are likely to see at least a few of them in the shop — sometimes being offered for sale in the showroom and sometimes in the shop for maintenance and restoration work.

On this particular day, we counted no less than six different examples of the high tech, AWD super machine, including a couple that were disassembled for mechanical overhaul.

For true Porsche geeks, just the opportunity to see so many of these legendary machines in one spot is reason enough to pay Canepa a visit.

2. Cizeta-Moroder V16GT

And if you thought the Porsche 959 was rare with its 345 examples, try this.

There were less than 20 Cizeta V16Ts built — and this protoype is the very first one ever made.

Designed as a collaboration between Claudio Zampoli and music producer Giorgio Moroder, with styling by the famed Marcello Gandini, the Cizeta remains one of the most unique supercars Italy has ever produced.

The body has a similar shape to the Lamborghini Diablo, which it shared its designer with, but when you look into the engine compartment things get really wild. Yes, that's a V16 engine, with a block based on a pair of Lamborghini V8s. It's an impressive piece of engineering, and it made the car extremely powerful for its time — capable of hitting 100 kilometers per hour in just four seconds.

Regular visitors to Canepa know they will get the chance to see some rare cars, but this Italian oddity truly takes things to a new level. Not surprisingly, there was a crowd around it all morning.

3. The Monterey Crunch

There never seems to be a slow time inside the shop at Canepa, but things are even busier than usual right now with Monterey Car Week and the Rolex Motorsport Reunion just over one month away.

Every bay at the shop was filled with something getting overhauled or freshened up before next month's festivities.

Here's one of several Canepa-prepped Porsche 935s that will be taking to the track at Laguna Seca.

And another 935 — this one originally raced by Paul Newman at Le Mans and recently purchased by comedian Adam Carolla, who plans to run it at the Historics this year. We can't wait to see it coming down the Corkscrew in all of its glory.

It's not just the race cars either. Canepa-restored production cars also make regular appearances at events like the Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance, and we expect to see many of these automobiles in Monterey next month.

4. American Power!

While the giant facility is packed full of rare production and race cars from Germany, Italy, England and more, Canepa also has plenty of love for good ol' American machines.

Walk around the shop, and you'll usually find a few vintage Trans Am racers undergoing work, like this Jerry Titus Pontiac Firebird that's no doubt being readied for Laguna Seca.

The inventory also includes plenty of vintage stock cars, like this incredibly badass '69 Dodge Daytona originally raced by Buddy Baker.

You'll even find the occasional quarter-mile machine, like Shelby's Super Snake front engine rail dragster — which is on display upstairs in the museum section of the building.

Don't forget the road cars either. Whether it's a Corvette, Shelby Cobra, Mustang or one the many beautifully done hot rods that regularly pass through the shop.

5. The Process

Seeing incredibly rare and historically important machines from the past is wonderful, but the special part about visiting Canepa's shop is seeing all of the work that goes into building, maintaining and restoring these vehicles from the ground up.

From fabrication and engine building, to paint and interior, there is no area of a build that Canepa's shop can't handle.

And during their monthly Cars & Coffee meets, it's all open for one to see.

You may have seen a Can Am-spec Porsche 917 at a car show or vintage race event, but how often do you get to see one stripped of all its body work?

It might not look like much, but this tube of metal actually belongs to a 1966 AAR Eagle Indy racer that's currently undergoing a full restoration at the hands of Canepa's talented technicians.

This just scratches the surface of the magic we found inside the Canepa shop last weekend, so keep your eyes peeled for an extra bonus gallery of cool stuff coming up shortly.

And if you ever have the chance to get out to one of Canepa's Cars & Coffee events yourself, we do not think you'll regret making the trip.

Like what you see? Take a look outside at Canepa's Cars & Coffee.

Sure, we may have already seen some of the cool cars from Canepa Cars & Coffee in Scott's Valley, California. And we might've also taken a look at some of the gems we found inside Canepa's enormous workshop, showroom and museum. But that was just a glimpse. There's more.

Sometimes it's best to just let the photos do the talking, so we've prepared a bonus gallery with more scenes from both inside and outside the shop. Browse through the gallery at the top, and we think you'll agree that this one of the coolest shops in the country — and coolest car meets happening anywhere right now. Enjoy!

This edition of the Le Mans 24 Hours is well over, and while you may have heard the winning news, step inside to discover why the 2017 Le Mans 24 Hours will not be forgotten by anyone who witnessed it, anytime soon.

Take all the clichés you can assemble — breath-taking, roller-coaster, edge of the seat and repeat ad nauseam — you will still struggle to adequately describe the sheer pace and excitement of the action that evolved during the race. This is one that will go down in the history books as one of the most unpredictable races in Le Mans’ 86-year history.

To start with, the atmosphere at Le Mans was missing something tangible. It was obvious, really — no Audi. This marked the first time they were not racing since 1998. As one of the top manufacturer contenders in the top LM P1 class, their absence took form in more ways than one. If not for the least, there were even hotel rooms available for race weekend in the city. Sure, they were still at mad prices, but in all my 30+ years at La Sarthe I have never known that.

When the checkered flag dropped, it was Porsche commanding the race, while second and third places were taken by two LM P2 privateer teams.

But to all those in the know, bets were being placed for Toyota to finally crack open the champagne bottles. Last year, with the TS050 hybrid, they came within an inch of the win before their last lap heartbreak. Prior to that they had additional close calls. Additionally, Toyota had three cars to Porsche's two, the TS050 was faster than the 919 and it had comfortably seen off the Porsches at Silverstone and Spa earlier in the season.

Once qualifying was over, all bets were supported when Kamui Kobayashi crushed the lap record and secured pole position.

On race morning and the first half of the afternoon, just as it was forecasted, Toyota led the way with the #1 Porsche maintaining contention behind it.

First Ones Bite the Dust

Bad news arrived for Porsche at 18:30, when the #2 car arrived for an unscheduled stop after losing power and coasting ‘round for nearly a lap. An hour passed while repairs were made to the hybrid system, taking energy from the front axle. All the experts agreed: No way back to victory from there for that Porsche.

During June in La Sarthe the sun sets around 22:00, as darkness spread a nightmare started to unfold for Toyota. First, the #8 car suffered a similar hybrid issue to the #2 Porsche. Taking the Toyota team nearly two hours to fix, there were additional problems with the batteries, which Porsche had managed to avoid. Another contender's race to the top step of the podium was done.

What Is This? Confusion for Toyota

Then came a half hour of truly cruel events for the Japanese team. Taking advantage of a Safety Car intervention, the #7 was brought into the pits from a healthy and increasing lead for a routine stop and driver change.

With the hero of Thursday's pole time, Kamui Kobayashi, piloting the car, it was stopped from rejoining the track at Pit Exit by a red light and a marshal. Suddenly, another marshal waved Kamui on and off he went. The team screamed down the radio for him to stop, not wanting to incur a penalty. When the Toyota was finally green lit to move, it’s clutch totally failed on the climb up to the end of the Main Straight. After a slow lap behind the Safety Car, the Toyota passed the pits on its first racing lap with no drive from the engine. The 8-mile lap distance was too great for the power stored in the TS050’s lithium batteries. After several stops on track, the Japanese hero had to admit defeat and abandon the car.

The problem began because the hybrid LM P1 prototypes leave the pits under electric power, as the clutch is not designed to cope with the power and torque of the race engine. So three full starts in quick succession were outside the performance parameters of the TS050. The mystery marshal turned out to be driver Vincent Capillaire. He was located in the final pit, wearing an orange firesuit. It transpired that he was just trying to encourage the leading car and driver — quite why is not clear. Capillaire was fined for his deeds by the Stewards, and he issued a public apology to the Japanese team, which was graciously accepted, also in public.

Toyota Gazoo Racing was struggling to come to terms with the loss of their two lead cars, but there was still #9 car — until, a few minutes later, there wasn't. An incident with a LM P2 car put #9 into the gravel. Although the Toyota was pulled free, a rear wheel was damaged, and the tire turned into a rubber flail, damaging the transmission hydraulics and an oil line, causing a couple of fires. Like car #7, the wounded racer tried to run the full lap on electric power — but also fell short of getting back to the pits. Toyota's challenge had evaporated; they were inconsolable, yet showed great dignity in defeat.

Back to Porsche

With all three Toyotas out, we now had the bizarre spectacle of the #1 Porsche commanding the race. Second and third places were keenly contested by two LM P2 privateer teams, both running ORECA chassis. It was a contest between Rebellion Racing and Jackie Chan DC Racing (run by the wily veterans Jota Sport, and yes, it is that Jackie Chan) for the podium places. And with how the race was going, who could say if outright victory wasn’t itself totally out of reach.

With just three hours and 50 minutes 'til the end, there was yet another twist as the leading Porsche suddenly slowed — leaving André Lotterer to try and make it back to the Pits under electrical power. Like the unlucky hybrid pair before him, he failed.

Now there was a brace of LM P2 cars leading the Le Mans 24 Hours. Sure, they were being caught hand-over-fist by the recovering #2 Porsche, but their presence at the front of the pack took a long conspiring chain of events to get there. While the Porsche was going flat-out and closing in, it would take zero issues and no extended caution or Safety Car periods to enable him to catch up in time.

The Final Cards

Finally, the natural order of things was restored. Lazarus-like, the #2 Porsche had risen from the dead and took the lead from the #38 ORECA with about an hour remaining on the clock. Coming through in first, he was joined on the podium by the Jackie Chan DC Racing pair — who had secured overall slots as well as a class win for LM P2. The Rebellion Racing car that had been in contention received a post-race disqualification. No one could write a script like that and get it accepted for a movie.

This performance was epic, as #2 was in 55th place at the fifth hour and had spent more than an hour in the pits. In order to find a similar come-from-behind victory, you’d need to go back to 1998. Again, in a Porsche, 40 years ago, Jürgen Barth, Hurley Haywood and the incomparable Jacky Ickx came back to win from 42nd spot in a Porsche 936 after a few hours into the race — the Belgian star putting in the performance of his life, breaking the lap record time-after-time in an epic set of stints in the dark. Magic. You know it when you see it.

A 10-Lap Sprint for the LM GTE Pro Class

Action in the LM GTE Pro class was just as frenetic as the Porsche/Toyota contest. Any of the five manufacturers involved — Aston Martin, Corvette, Ferrari, Ford and Porsche — could have conceivably won their race if circumstances had altered slightly.

In this class, the pace of each of the cars is evened out by Balance of Performance adjustments. Usually, the scene makes for much arguing. Last year, Ford dominated this class with their GT — no matter that they made great strides between the Official Test and the Race. But this year, matters were much more even, suggesting that the officials had got their sums more-or-less on the money. The class' 13 cars were covered by just two seconds in Qualifying, reinforcing the notion that the pace had indeed been balanced.

Contest for the class was as fierce as any witnessed in the past 90+ years, as the advantage swung one way, then another. One by one the contenders fell away from the lead battle. The Risi Ferrari was rudely punted out of the race by an errant prototype driver. The #64 Corvette had a wheel come adrift in the Porsche Curves, costing it four laps.

In the closing hour, it came to down a flat-out duel between Jonny Adam, in the #97 Aston Martin, and Jordan Taylor, in the #63 Corvette. It was more like a 10-lap sprint race than the concluding stage of a 24-hour endurance contest. Both drivers were at their limit — fighting the cars, each other and cockpit temperatures at the level of a sauna.

With just seven minutes to go, Taylor missed his braking point at the second Mulsanne Chicane, running through the gravel trap and damaging a tire. By the time the lap was completed, the tire was shot, and he was rendered powerless against the Aston Martin. To add insult to injury, the Corvette was also passed by the #67 Ford on the way to the Checkered Flag — another case of so close yet still so far away.

Looking Toward the FIA's Problematic Future

Those paying attention will have registered that Porsche scored their 19th overall win at 2017 Le Mans and their third consecutive overall win. And with that, comes its own set of problems...

“Pardon?” I hear you say. “Winning the Big Prize brings problems? Has the old boy finally flipped?” Those of you really paying attention would have seen my post a while back regarding the fundamental changes to how the Volkswagen Group will conduct its business in the future.

In the run up to Le Mans, a story emerged from Germany that Porsche were considering their options on whether to continue in the FIA World Endurance Championship. The source for this was, once again, Marcus Schurig, who broke the news of Audi's departure from the sport last year. The story was regarded by those in authority as "not helpful" and "speculation." However, such a high budget campaign should rightfully come under scrutiny of any responsible management — figures of €150 million or more per annum are regularly bandied about.

Another set of questions to address arose from the rules package for 2020 that was unveiled at Le Mans during race week. Who is going to make the investment to create race cars capable of a zero emissions and the first kilometer in full electric mode at racing speed?

Will this bring Peugeot back into the field? A key element in the continued participation of Porsche and Toyota may possibly be a third manufacturer. The signs are not encouraging; all the manufacturer's budgets are under pressure with external and internal factors leading to great uncertainty. Who wants to make brave calls at this time?

Porsche also faces another issue. The current 919 is at the end of its development, a new car will be needed to stay competitive with the Toyota in 2018. If that has not yet been commissioned, then it is probably too late for next year — lead times for these incredibly complex hybrids cannot be reduced, even throwing money at the problem will not work.

What lies in the future is anyone's call, but looking back on the 2017 Le Mans 24 Hours it is a story that will be retold for generations to come. Regardless, it leaves more questions open than closed about the future path of the World's Greatest Race.

When Steve Burris traded in his Mustang restoration hobby for fixing up old trucks, he never imagined it would take him here. A 1973 F-250 resting on a Super Duty frame, axles and suspension — all propelled by a 7.3L Power Stroke. With a newfound affinity for bringing rust-plagued, Midwestern ’73-’77 Ford High-Boys back from the dead, he’s all but made it a second full-time job breathing new life into these classic pieces of Americana.

From unearthing the original, dilapidated crew cab body, to sourcing parts from 10 different donor trucks and handling his own auto body, fabrication and electrical work, Steve’s ’73 truck is a true rags-to-riches automotive story. This three-part series attempts to chronicle the truck’s six-month journey from start to finish, and we cordially invite you to watch Steve’s homebuilt High-Boy come together, piece by piece.

The (Not-So-Perfect) Barn Find

Finding a crew cab F-250 from this vintage is fairly rare these days, so Steve jumped at the chance to buy this ’73 cab-and-chassis F-250 when the opportunity presented itself. The truck was local, it’s body appeared to be worthy of salvaging and he picked it up for a little more than a grand.

Beyond Repair

While Steve knew he could repair or replace most of the cab’s sheetmetal, the floor had all but deteriorated.

“It looked like Swiss cheese,” he told us, but it didn’t stop him from purchasing the truck. A self-taught fabricator, Steve had no problem with the prospect of having to build a new floor. As for the original frame, axles and suspension? They were salvageable, but Steve didn’t want them. From the outset of the project, his goal was to set a High-Boy body on a Super Duty chassis. And with plans to also install a modern diesel engine under the hood, he knew that heavier-duty axles and leaf springs would make the most sense.

‘73 Power Stroke

Already having helped swap a 5.9L Cummins into a High-Boy, Steve was looking to change things up a bit with his own project.

“After we built my son’s Cummins truck (a ’77 F-250 Custom) last winter, I knew I wanted to do a diesel swap, but I wanted to do something different,” he said. “Then I realized I loved all the 7.3 liters I’d owned and had always had really good luck with them.” So the plan to shy away from the popular Cummins swap in favor of another venerable diesel mill, the 7.3L Power Stroke, was put into action. He would source the 7.3L engine you see above from a late ’99 Super Duty, along with a ’99 model year four-wheel-drive version of the ZF-6 manual transmission (complete with the manually-shifted NV271 transfer case).

One-Off Floorboard

Once Steve had decided on a powerplant and transmission, his vision for the new floorboard became clear.

Because the transmission tunnel on the floorboard of a ZF-6-equipped Super Duty would best accommodate the ZF-6 he planned to use, a floorboard was sourced from yet another donor Super Duty. However, because the Super Duty flooring didn’t feature the rise needed to locate the rear seats where he wanted them, only the front portion of the floor is a genuine Super Duty piece. The rear half (pictured above) was completely fabricated by Steve.

Factory Sheetmetal

Before Steve went to town on the floorboard, he turned his attention to A-pillar repair. Instead of fabricating his own A-pillars, questionable areas were replaced in sections using pieces from rust-free, Southwestern donor trucks (like what's shown here).

Steve told us the process was time-consuming, but totally worth it, being that all repairs were performed using factory sheetmetal. In fact, other than the aforementioned floor of the cab, no aftermarket sheetmetal has been added to the truck.

Super Duty Firewall

Although Steve set out to keep the High-Boy body as original as possible, he eventually came to the conclusion that exceptions had to be made. Due to parts availability, time constraints and convenience, it simply made the most sense to stick with ’99-’03 components in key areas.

Case in point, instead of trying to track down a good core firewall (or fabricate his own) and then modify it to accept pass-through items such as the clutch pedal and hydroboost brake components, he used one out of a Super Duty. As you’ll see later, Steve had the same frame of mind when it came to the truck’s electronics.

’79 Bed

Because transforming High-Boys into modernized, diesel-powered work horses is just a hobby for Steve, he stuck very close to budget on this project.

“I did a lot of wheeling and dealing on stuff to break even,” he recalled. “For example, the bed was a barter item, the cab came from Joe (a good friend), the front doors came from Facebook, the front clip was found on Craigslist, and on and on.”

The bed, actually from a post-High-Boy generation truck, came off a local sled puller’s ’79 F-250 and was chosen due to how easily it could be secured to the Super Duty frame (a ’73 bed was too narrow).

“The ’79 bed wasn’t planned, but it worked,” Steve explained. In the photo below, you can see the bed being glass-bead media-blasted, which happened almost immediately after it was delivered.

Cutting the Frame

With the entire project being based on a ’99 model year Super Duty frame originally intended for an extended cab, long bed configuration, Steve had no choice but to extend the frame 8 inches in order to accommodate the crew cab.

In turn, the added section of frame required another 8 inches be added to the driveline. The extra length can be found in the rear shaft of the truck’s two-piece driveshaft, which Steve had custom built, locally.

Gloss Black Frame, Axles and Suspension

After glass-bead media-blasting the entire frame and then hitting it with several coats of gloss black paint, it came out looking like this.

The front Dana 50 and rear Sterling 10.5 axles would receive the same treatment. The front leaf springs came courtesy of a 4-inch Superlift Suspension system, with the added ride height being required in order to clear the 37x12.50R17 Nitto Trail Grapplers Steve planned to run.

Make sure you tune in for Part 2, where we tackle the truck’s bondo, primer and paint, along with the engine and transmission fitment.

MOD 2017 at Mitsubishi’s headquarters in Cypress, California, was possibly the biggest Mitsubishi Owner’s Day to date. The annual event is what SoCal Mitsubishi owners dream of all year. It's open to all models of Mitsubishis, from Eclipses to Monteros and everything in-between. There’s even a dyno pull competition put on by Road Race Engineering if you feel like throwing down some numbers during the event. Some Evos were even able to break the 1,000 hp mark. Yes, that’s 1000 hp out of just four cylinders!

The attendance this year was at an all-time high; in fact, the streets all around Mitsubishi’s headquarters were lined with every flavor of Mitsubishi you could dream of. This marked the 12th year in a row of the Mitsubishi Owners Day meet-up and the 100th year of Mitsubishi making automobiles. To celebrate, the raffles and giveaways were bigger than ever. We can’t wait to see what Mitsubishi has to offer next year.

Fun Fact: "Mitsu" = 3, "Bishi" = Diamond

Usually when thoughts of island life are brought up, the first place that typically comes to mind is Hawaii. But there is another, an island that’s beautiful in its own ways, with extremely welcoming locals who are nothing short of warm and friendly, who treat you as if you’re family even though you’ve just met. And I should mention: They are some of the most diehard car enthusiasts around, despite being the furthest from the mainland by a long shot. This is Guam, and this island has a unique car style they can proudly call their own.

I personally have been working on getting to Guam for several years now, ever since my Super Street days, but events usually fall around the same time as Formula D’s season opener (or around Coachella), so, unfortunately, I’ve always had to ask for a rain check. The stars finally aligned this year, and Showoff Guam was locked into my calendar. Its organizers, Tom Akigami (a Guam local who’s responsible for organizing most of the big car events) and Ken Miyoshi (the original Import Showoff founder and my direct connection to Tom), set me up with the craziest of schedules to come judge the event... We’re talking less than a 24-hour turnaround type of craziness.

There is no direct way to reach Guam from Los Angeles, so travel requires a stopover in Japan. Not the worst place to go in transit but a six-hour layover meant I wouldn’t be arriving until close to 2 a.m., local Guam time. What sucks about that is Guam is an hour ahead of Japan, so my body clock would be thrown way off as our morning call time was 8 o'clock — with a major hit of jet lag, I didn’t get to sleep until 4:30 a.m. After a quick local breakfast at Shirley’s Coffee Shop (this place seriously is the home of some of the best fried rice I’ve had; try the Chamorro sausage if you happen to stop in), we took a quick cruise around the island before heading to the main attraction at the Guam International Raceway.

The Raceway is an impressive place — basically an all-in-one venue that can host off-roading, motocross, drag racing and autocross/drifting events, with a small lot for car shows like Showoff Guam. For motorsport enthusiasts, this is paradise. You can walk the entire place in under 10 minutes, but the heat and brutal humidity make it a challenge.

Cars here aren’t like what you’d find on the mainland. Aftermarket parts and installers are hard to come by, so they may not be as fully built; however, there is a very likable quality about them regardless. They are driven, have a few blemishes giving them some character or are set up in ways that might seem behind the times, but the important part is these cars are driven. The owners are very proud and love to talk about their builds. Really cool stuff to take in when you’re a guy visiting from a big city.

The activities go on for what seems like hours. Once the sun sets, the attention shifts towards the drag strip, where you’ll see just about any mode of transportation go down the 1320. Mini trucks, motorcycles, domestics, old school rotaries and even a couple GT-Rs.

We didn’t shut the event down until close to 1 a.m. and didn’t get to sleep more than a couple hours before needing to making a 7 a.m. flight back to Tokyo. And like that... I was gone.

(Photos: Jonathan Wong& Paul Myer Basilio)

See more photos from Showoff Guam 2017 in the photo gallery below.

Fullsize trucks usually don’t take center stage when it comes to off-road. Typically, the big trucks are relegated to towing duties — a mere tool to get the job done. They pull the trailer that has the show rig, race car or off-road beast to the event and then sit in waiting until it is needed again. It doesn’t have to be that way, however.

The Ram truck line heritage stretches back to the beginning of big trucks as a whole. The addition of the Cummins diesel powerplants provided the serious grunt that helped them secure an even stronger hold of the fullsize truck market. That, plus being one of the first companies to use coil springs in the front suspension of a 4x4 fullsize truck, the Ram trucks have proven to make a great all-around platform for power, ride and style. Now, Fabtech Motorsports is pushing them even further.

Fabtech has been building performance suspensions since the late 1980s. When its attention was focused on the late-model Ram 2500s, the game was on to build a high-performance package that would turn a high-end glorified work truck into a smooth riding beast that had plenty of ground clearance, no loss in towing capacity and could go play in the dirt with ease.

We got a chance to ogle the company's latest build, which you can see in the video above and learn more about in the feature breakdown below. 

Fabtech’s 2014 Ram 2500 4x4 is the culmination of all those efforts. To elevate the truck, Fabtech developed a four-link suspension system that utilizes its 4-inch-diameter Dirt Logic Coilovers, which gives the truck a seven-inch lift over stock. The Dirt Logic Coilovers are built from Stainless Steel and have a built-in remote billet reservoir.

The 4 Link System is built using heavy-duty 2-inch O.D. control arms with massive 5-ton-rated link ends. New bracketry was designed to convert the suspension from the stock radius arm. Each arm was meticulously built to provide ample clearance and more travel.

Ram started putting coils into the rear of their fullsize trucks in 2009 with the 1500 Ram. Coils were then included in the 2014 2500 trucks, and it was proof that big trucks did not need leaf springs. To step up the performance, Fabtech swapped out the rear coils for Dirt Logic 4.0 coilovers to match the front. Both front and rear differentials were left stock except for the rear diff cover, which was upgraded to a high-capacity aFe Power unit. An aFe Power 4-inch exhaust system helps the otherwise stock 6.7L Cummins Turbo Diesel relieve pressure and gain a few power points.

The rear Dirt Logic coilovers are set up with two stages. The main stage is the lower; this heavy-duty coil handles the stress of towing, heavy loads and everyday driving. The upper stage is a substantially lighter rate that is only utilized when the rear suspension is near complete droop and softens the initial impact when compression starts again. The remote mounted reservoir features a handy compression adjuster to dial in the ride for the specific truck, terrain and load.

The Fabtech Ram 2500 is outfitted with 38x13.50R22 Nitto Trail Grapplers mounted on 22-inch BMF Wheels. The aggressive tread pattern of the Trail Grappler provides the necessary off-road grip while retaining excellent road manners we've come to expect with a modern mud-terrain radial.

Fabtech’s Ram 2500 is no show queen. The truck is, of course, used in shows, but form and function went hand-in-hand in the development. A Fab Fours front bumper leads the charge with a Warn winch hidden behind it, and a Fab Fours rear bumper is used out back. 

The late-model Ram's are already a well-rounded truck, but Fabtech did a great job of turning this one into something that excels on-road and off.

Be sure to check out more details on the truck in the gallery below. 

Formula Drift slides into Autodrome St. Eustache for the third consecutive season — the second season in a row that the round will count for Championship points. The fans in Montreal are known to be pretty enthusiastic, and this year’s event was sold out prior to the gates opening on race day. The Formula Drift Canada Top 16 competition was the appetizer for the day, with Tyler Nelson defeating his teammate Jonathan Nerren in the Final.

(Photos: Jag Imaging)

THE COURSE

The St. Eustache course is one of the longer courses on the circuit. Starting on the front straightaway and running the course in counter-clockwise orientation, drivers are hitting around 80 mph before initiating into the first turn. Although Autodrome St. Eustache appears to be an oval, the first sweeper isn’t perfectly round and can be misleading to the drivers if they try to ride the wall too early in the turn.

Drivers are asked to push out to the wall by the end of the sweeper, before transitioning along the back straight to an inner clipping point that is set midway through the course similar to the switchback clipping points we typically see at Wall Speedway and Irwindale Speedway. Drivers then transition back toward the wall and briefly tap a "touch-and-go" section before driving through a second left-hand sweeper. One final transition pushes drivers to a final inner clipping point before finishing across a marked finish line on the road course.

QUALIFYING

The Qualifying session on Friday took place in very mixed conditions, with a substantial rain storm dumping torrential amounts of water on the track just before Qualifying was scheduled to start. While the rain let up around 20 minutes before practice, drivers faced a course with mixed moisture levels in their first Qualifying run, but nearly all drivers had a full dry course for their second qualifying run. With only 24 drivers showing up in Montreal, the top eight drivers would receive bye runs into the Top 16.

James Deane proved to master the course best, laying down a strong 88-point run and backed it up with an 85-point score to earn the top spot. Both Kristaps Bluss and Justin Pawlak scored 88-point runs on their best passes, but with backup scores of 82 and "Incomplete" respectively, Bluss would take second while Pawlak would slot into Q3. Fredric Aasbo, Chelsea DeNofa and Ryan Tuerck all scored 87 point runs on their best runs, which meant Q4 through Q6 would also come down to the secondary scores. Aasbo earned an 84, DeNofa earned a 60, while Tuerck had an "Incomplete" as a secondary score, which placed those three drivers in Q4, Q5 and Q6 respectively.

Saturday’s weather is shaping up to be perfect for the tandem battles, so we’re excited to see how this shakes out!

TOP 32

There was a brief delay in the start of the Top 32 as the paramedics from the track were called away to assist with a vehicle accident near the track. Thankfully, the delay was only around 20 minutes, and we’re back underway. Prior to the start of the event, the drivers voted to require drivers to make a pass for their bye run to help put on a better show to the clients.

James Deane – Bye Run

DEANE LEAD – Deane makes a full pass around the course, keeping his car several feet from the wall to avoid any major damage, but with plenty of tire smoke and style. Deane is the current points leader, and he will extend the lead with his first top qualifier award in Formula Drift. The Worthouse Drift pits will be very busy wrenching to get his teammate Wiecek’s car back on track after a major crash on the wall near the end of the morning practice session.

Dai Yoshihara vs. Chris Forsberg

YOSHIHARA LEAD – Yoshihara initiates nicely, Forsberg is around a car length behind Yoshihara into the first turn. Great transition from Yoshihara along the back stretch in front of the grand stands, Yoshihara keeps good steering angle along the second sweeper with Forsberg still only a car length behind him. Yoshihara fills the outside zone nicely and extends to lead to around three car lengths around the final turn.

FORSBERG LEAD – Forsberg has a good initiation, Yoshihara is very tight on him into the first turn and remains tight to him across the transition on the back stretch. Forsberg nudges the second front clipping point out of the way, Yoshihara looks to be much closer to Forsberg in chase than what we saw on the previous run, but Yoshihara taps the final clipping point out of the way. Forsberg was definitely closer to the walls and outside zones, but Yoshihara had very good proximity.

No major mistakes from either driver — really a clean set of runs from two former champions. All three judges vote for Yoshihara to move on to the Top 16.

Piotr Wiecek – Bye Run

WIECEK LEAD - Wiecek had to call his competition timeout due to a crash late in the practice session. Unfortunately, he is unable to get the car repaired in time, which means he will not be given the win. Again, this was a change that was made at this event and requested by the drivers to give them additional practice time, but that decision has left Wiecek on the sidelines in the Top 32. Whoever wins the next tandem battle will receive a bye run in the Top 16, which will give them a fast pass into the Great 8. 

Odi Bakchis vs. Robbie Nishida

BAKCHIS LEAD – Bakchis holds a two-car lead after intiation, but quickly extends it to around three cars by the end of the first sweeper. Nishida closes the gap across the transition on the back stretch and stays close into the second sweeper, while Bakchis has a good run with tons of smoke. Around the final turn, Nishida carried too much momentum and slides off course just before the finish line.

It appears that Nishida is at fault for flying off the track, but upon replay, it reveals that Bakchis was off throttle in an acceleration area, which means Nishida will not be granted an "Incomplete" run. There was some light contact between the cars, probably not enough to break any parts but Nishida will be given "reasonable time" to make any potential repairs to his car if needed.

NISHIDA LEAD – Bakchis has great proximity behind Nishida on initiation. Nishida’s car looks really unstable and bouncy as he drives, but he keeps consistent steering angle and tire smoke from Nishida’s GTR. Bakchis kept a consistent car and a half of distance behind Nishida around the course, Nishida slides fairly wide around the final turn but remains on course. All three judges vote for Nishida to move on. He will have a quick pass into the Great 8 due to Wiecek being unable to make his pass. 

Fredric Aasbo – Bye Run

AASBO LEAD - Aasbo has looked dialed in his Toyota Corolla iM all weekend, and this run is no different. Aasbo is a few feet away from the walls and the clipping points, similar to Deane’s bye run, but that’s all it takes on a bye run.

Nate Hamilton vs. Michael Essa

HAMILTON LEAD – Hamilton uses a manji entry, Essa is slow to get to full angle but sucks in tight to Hamilton by midway through the first corner. Hamilton fills the first outer zone nicely, but doesn’t push out to the second outer zone as much as the judges would like to see. Essa has some steering corrections and moments of less angle in his chase run, but maintains a relatively consistent two car gap between the cars around most of the track. Some slight mistakes from both drivers, but nothing that stands out as giving one driver a distinct advantage over the other.

ESSA LEAD – Essa rubs the wall twice and is dragging his back bumper around the first sweeper. The bumper is dragging his bumper behind the car for most of the track. As the cars transition across the switchback, Essa loses his right rear tire. Essa stays on the throttle and continues to navigate around the final two turns of the track with only one tire in the rear, amazingly maintaining very good tire smoke and angle through the rest of the course. The crowd erupts and cheers him on around the final half of the track; this is insane! Hamilton does a great job maintaining proximity behind Essa, despite Essa being much slower with half of the traction of a normal run.

If this tire debeading happened on the first run, Essa would be disqualified and not allowed to continue into the second run because he wouldn’t be allowed to replace the tires. But since this happened in the second run, the run will count and be judged normally. All three judges vote for Nate Hamilton to move into the Top 16, citing the slowness of Essa and Hamilton’s ability to follow despite the unorthodox run being a major reason.

Chelsea DeNofa – Bye Run

DENOFA LEAD – DeNofa out-qualified his Nitto Tire Ford Mustang RTR teammate for the second consecutive event and has looked more and more comfortable in the car at the past two events. DeNofa has a great pass with tons of tire smoke, and looks dialed for the Top 16 round of competition.

Marc Landreville vs. Kyle Mohan

LANDREVILLE LEAD – This is Landreville’s home track, and he looks very comfortable on this track. Last season, Landreville was disqualified for tapping start line cones, so this is his first tandem competition at this track as part of the Formula Drift Championship. Landreville has a great run, extending a lead very quickly to around four car lengths and maintains substantially more tire smoke around the entire track.

MOHAN LEAD – Mohan has a good initiation, Landreville closes the gap very early but has to slow down substantially to avoid contact and loses some ground on Mohan. Landreville had a lower line around the first sweeper, which didn’t set him up well for the rest of the track. Mohan takes advantage of the opportunity and extends his lead around the next two corners to around five car lengths with a good line around the corner, Landreville takes a shallower line to try and make up ground but doesn’t close the gap down much. This was a tricky pair of runs to score as there were some big mistakes from both drivers. One judge votes for Landreville, while the other two want to see a “One More Time." We will see this battle again!

One More Time

LANDREVILLE LEAD– Landreville has a big gap again on his lead, around four car lengths by the end of the first turn. Landreville extends his lead to around six car lengths by the end of the run. Mohan slides off course just before the final turn, it looks like he got lost in the smoke of Landreville. 

MOHAN LEAD– Mohan has a much strong lead run, but Landreville stays close in his chase. Mohna has good steering angle and puts his cars in the right places especially near the outer zones, Landreville doesn’t have as much steering angle and doesn’t fill the outside zones as much but maintains much better proximity. Landreville was never more than four car lengths behind Mohan, and spent more time just a pair of car lengths behind Mohan than not. All three judges vote for Landreville to move into the Top 16, and the crowd lets out a big cheer for their hometown driver.

Kristaps Bluss – Bye Run

BLUSS LEAD – Bluss had a fairly big crash in practice similar to Wiecek, but it happened earlier in practice which allowed the HGK Racing team to make repairs in time for this bye run. Bluss gave us the most aggressive bye run we’ve seen today, likely feeling out the course due to missing a substantial amount of practice from the crash. This was a very exciting run to watch, and Bluss looks poised to make a return to the podium for the third consecutive event.

Matt Coffman vs. Alec Hohnadell

COFFMAN LEAD – These drivers are teammates this year, but neither of there are definitely not any team orders between them. Coffman has a great run with tons of tire smoke and angle, Hohnadell closes the gap very quickly in the first turn. Hohnadelll nudges Coffman near the end of the outer zone, but doesn’t affect Coffman’s line. It looks like Hohnadell dumps some big angle after the switchback on the back straight and over-rotates a bit, which puts him on an awkward line through the second sweeper. Coffman finishes the courst with tons of tire smoke and substantially more angle than Hohnadell around the final turn. Hohnadell’s line around the final turn is awkward, and he ends up sliding off course just past the finish line. This will still be a fully scored run from Hohnadell, but in sliding off course and through the grass, it appears that Hohnadell may have damaged something as he has to call his competition timeout.

HOHNADELL LEAD – Hohnadell was unable to make repairs in time for the second run, so Coffman has a bye run into the Top 16. Coffman’s pit crew was helping Hohnadell to try and put on a show for the fans, but the clock ran out before repairs on the rear corner of Hohnadell’s car could be completed. All three judges unsurprisingly vote for Coffman to win this battle. 

Matt Field – Bye Run

FIELD LEAD – Field gives another good run to the fans with tons of tire smoke. Field hasn’t finished any higher than Top 16 this season, but he looks to be ready to break that streak in Montreal. He definitely has the car to make it happen!

Dean Kearney vs. Jeff Jones

KEARNEY LEAD – Kearney is another driver who had some issues during practice, but his Oracle Lighting team was able to make the repairs to the car in time for this battle. Kearney has some big angle into the first turn and quickly extends the gap to around three car lengths through the first turn. Kearney is putting out tons of tire smoke and extends his lead through the entirety of the course, while Jones struggles to keep up and has some major corrections in chase behind Kearney. 

JONES LEAD – The lead run from Jones wasn’t as strong as the run from Kearney, but the chase run from Kearney isn’t very strong either. Kearney is around four car lengths behind Jones through most of the course; it looks like he left some room to try and close the gap but wasn’t able to close it down as he planned.

Jones takes out the final clipping point, which will be a slight deduction. All three judges vote for Kearney to move on to the Top 16.  

Justin Pawlak – Bye Run

PAWLAK LEAD – Justin Pawlak’s Mustang is the second Ford Mustang we’ve seen a bye run from today, the first being DeNofa. Pawlak’s Roush Performance Ford Mustang puts out tons of tire smoke; he looks ready for the Top 16! 

Jhonattan Castro vs. Vaughn Gittin Jr.

CASTRO LEAD – Castro initiates with Vaughn Gittin Jr. about two car lengths ahead of Gittin Jr. Castro doesn’t quite fill the first outer zone as much as the judges would like to see, but does fill the second outer zone nicely. Gittin Jr. keeps a very consistent amount of proximity behind Castro in chase, and has very similar steering angle around the course. Gittin Jr. clearly runs a very loose setup.

GITTIN JR. LEAD – Castro initiates a bit later than Gittin Jr. and sucks in super tight to Gittin Jr. midway through the first turn. Castro backs off and Gittin Jr. opens up the gap to around three car lengths by the first switchback. Midway through the second sweeper, Castro makes contact with Gittin Jr. which forces Gittin Jr. to spin out.

Looking at the replay, Gittin Jr. was definitely on throttle through the sweeper, so fault will likely be assessed for Castro for the collision. All three judges vote for Gittin Jr. to move on to the Top 16, where he will face fellow Ford Mustang driver Justin Pawlak. 

Ryan Tuerck – Bye Run

TUERCK LEAD – Tuerck has a pretty stylish run and actually over-rotates after the back straight switchback, but is able to power out of it which just adds to the flare of the run. Tuerck apparently has had some mechanical issues over the weekend, but everything looks to be running in top shape just in time for Top 16. Tuerck will move on to the Top 16.

Ken Gushi vs. Pat Goodin

GUSHI LEAD – Gushi has big angle into the first turn while Goodin has very shallow angle and looks to be struggling. Initially, Goodin was only a car length away from Gushi, but that gap is quickly opened up to nearly four car lengths by the middle of the back straight switchback and continues to grow over the second half of the run. Goodin has several steering corrections in chase, and really doesn’t fill any of the outside clipping zones as requested from the judges. This will likely be a big advantage to Gushi after the first run.

GOODIN LEAD – Goodin has a much smoother lead run than on his chase run, Gushi is very aggressive on his chase run and clearly the more dominant driver. Goodin has better steering angle and is more consistent than on his chase run, Gushi is never more than two car lengths behind Goodin. One judge votes for Gushi, while two judges want to see this battle go "One More Time." We will see this battle again! 

One More Time

GUSHI LEAD – Gushi has another strong lead run, this is probably a better run than his first lead run while Goodin has a similar chase run to the first time around. Gushi has much more steering angle and keeps a six- to seven-car lead ahead of Goodin around the track, Goodin drops a tire into the dirt around the final turn which won’t help his cause.

GOODIN LEAD – Just before pulling to the line, Goodin calls his competition timeout to inspect his car from dropping a tire on the final turn. He’s able to make repairs to the car and make the call for this second run. Goodin looks much stronger on his lead run, similar to the first battle between these two, but Gushi looks equally as aggressive as in the first round. All three judges vote for Gushi to move on to the Top 16.

FORD TOP 16

Since this event takes place in Canada, we get to hear “O Canada” to start off the Top 16 driver introductions. James Deane receives his “Bag o’ Cash” from Black Magic as the top qualifier, and we get to see some burnouts before the tandem competition starts. This is actually a Top 15 driver introduction as Piotr Wiecek was unable to make the call for his bye run in the Top 32 round, so our second battle will be a bye run.

Deane vs. Yoshihara

DEANE LEAD – Deane carries the outside line around the big sweeper, while Yoshihara is just a single car length behind. Both drivers handle the switchback smoothly, Yoshihara sucks in tight to Deane after the switchback and surges ahead again in the second sweeper. Deane definitely has a better line, but the proximity from Yoshihara is impressive!

YOSHIHARA LEAD – Wow, Deane sucks in very tight to Yoshiahra shortly after initiation and keeps the proximity through the sweeper! There’s some visible left foot braking from both drivers, but this is easily the best tandem battle from a proximity perspective all night. Deane leaves just enough room for Yoshihara to transition across the switchback, then sucks in tight into the second sweeper, leaving just a half car length between him and Yoshihara. Yoshihara is a bit wide from inner clip two; Deane is very close behind him, and both drivers cross the finish line with just a few feet between the cars.

This chase run is proof of why Deane is leading the points! One judge votes for a “One More Time," while the other two judges side with Deane.

Nishida – Bye Run

NISHIDA LEAD – Nishida has been dialing this GTR in progressively over the last few events, and this is definitely the best weekend for him. He’s a bit shy on the steering angle on the switchback, but since it’s a bye run, he’s guaranteed the win.

Aasbo vs. Hamilton

AASBO LEAD – Aasbo initiates much earlier than Hamilton and immediately expands the gap up to around three car lengths in the first sweeper. Hamilton takes a shallow line, but still isn’t able to close down the gap. Hamilton takes out the clipping point midway through the back straight and the final clipping point before the finish; this will be a big advantage for Aasbo.

HAMILTON LEAD – Hamilton and Aasbo initiate almost simultaneously; Aasbo is never more than two car lengths behind Hamilton and mirrors the steering angle around nearly every clipping point identically. Aasbo closes the gap down after the second sweeper and crosses the finish line just a car length behind Hamilton.

Looking at the replay, Hamilton was pretty far off all of the outer clipping zones; he didn’t make any major mistakes but was noticeably shallower on his line around the entire course. All three judges vote for Aasbo to move on to the Great 8. 

DeNofa vs. Landreville

DENOFA LEAD – DeNofa initiates early, Landreville is shallow on his line but DeNofa crunches his back bumper into the wall shortly after initiation and smashes into the wall. Sparks are flying.

It looks like DeNofa’s suspension broke after the initial contact, and his car is currently sitting on the track without a front right wheel or most of the front right suspension. The tow truck is out to take care of DeNofa; he will clearly need to call his competition timeout to repair his Ford Mustang RTR.

LANDREVILLE LEAD – DeNofa is unable to repair the car, and Landreville makes a bye run to move into the Top 8. The crowd is cheering for Landreville to progress far in the bracket; this is a great day for the Canadian driver so far! All three judges vote for Landreville to move on to the Great 8.

Bluss vs. Coffman

BLUSS LEAD – Bluss initiates several car lengths ahead of Coffman, and while both drivers are slow to get their cars to full angle, Bluss immediately opens up a four car length gap on Coffman by midway through the sweeper. Bluss is deep into the outer clipping zone at the end of the sweeper, has a smooth transition across the back straight, and continues smoothly into the second sweeper with Coffman several car lengths behind him. Coffman briefly closes the gap down to around two car lengths near inner clip two, but Bluss opens up the gap again by the finish line.

COFFMAN LEAD – Coffman initiates and Bluss is immediately on his tail. Coffman briefly opens up a gap, Bluss anticipates the switchback from Coffman and transitions ahead of him on the back straight, masterfully mirroring Coffman’s line. Bluss closes the cap down to just inches from Coffman on two different occasions around the second sweep; this is an absolutely amazing run from Bluss in the chase position!

Coffman doesn’t really make any mistakes, but Bluss is showing an intense amount of car control behind Coffman. One judge votes for a “One More Time," but the other judges vote for Bluss. We will see Bluss in the Great 8.

Field vs. Kearney

FIELD LEAD – Good initiation from both drivers, Kearney is around two car lengths behind Field on initiation but closes that down to a single car length early in the sweeper. Kearney is using his left foot braking to keep the gap manageable between both cars, but makes contact as Field transitions across the switchback. We have a collision! Kearney straightens after the transition and punts Field into the wall in front of the crowd. Wow, that was a hard hit by Field. The car has to be towed to the pits, but the best sign is that Field appears to be OK and was seen assessing damage to the car before they got to the pits.

KEARNEY LEAD – Both cars appear at the line missing front bumpers and hoods; this looks like a demolition derby more than a drifting battle. Kearney initiates and takes a lower line around the first sweeper, while Field initiates a bit later and maintains two car lengths of proximity to Kearney through the sweeper. Kearney adds a ton of angle near the exit of the sweeper. Both cars transition across the switchback smoothly and Kearney enters the second sweeper with an additional car length of gap. Kearney has good angle around the final two turns.

Field doesn’t have the same amount of angle, but given the amount of damage the car has, the fact that he was able to make this run at all is impressive. All three judges vote for Field to move into the Great 8 due to the accident being caused by Kearney.

Pawlak vs. Gittin Jr.

PAWLAK LEAD – Pawlak initiates pretty early. Gittin Jr. initiates several feet later and sucks in tight to Pawlak. Pawlak has a much wider line at the exit of the first sweeper. Gittin Jr. stays shallow to keep close to Pawlak across the transition then rides his door into the second sweeper. Pawlak finishes the last two corners with tons of steering angle. Gittin Jr. takes out both inner clip two and inner clip three with his front bumper. Great run from both drivers; there were reasons for judges to vote for either driver depending on how they emphasize various parts of the track.

GITTIN JR. LEAD – Gittin Jr. initiates around three car lengths ahead of Pawlak. Pawlak takes a shallower line to suck in close to Gittin Jr. and reduces the gap to around a single car length. Both cars slide across the switchback smoothly and maintain a single car length of proximity entering the second sweeper.

Gittin Jr. extends the lead to around four car lengths; Pawlak loses a ton of angle just before the final turn and may have completely lost drift. All three judges vote for Gittin Jr. to move on to the Great 8.

Tuerck vs. Gushi

TUERCK LEAD – Tuerck has a quick initiation but quickly finds himself into the wall. Gushi follows Tuerck’s line and tries to brake late, but loses it and crashes himself. Wow, this track is eating up cars. This will likely be Tuerck’s fault, but it will take some replays and some downtime to decipher who the winner (or biggest loser) is.

GUSHI LEAD – Tuerck is unable to repair his car in the allotted time, which means Gushi has a bye run. All three judges vote for Gushi to move on to the Great 8.

NOS ENERGY DRINK GREAT 8

Deane vs. Nishida

DEANE LEAD – Deane initiates on the high line and has a great line around the sweeper, while Nishida is much later to initiate, has a much shallower line, and much less steering angle. Deane exits the sweeper with around a three car lead, Nishida closes the gap to around two car lengths, but Deane extends it back to four car lengths by the end of the course.

Nishida didn’t make any mistakes other than having a shallow line in the first sweeper, but Deane’s ability to pull away from Nishida will likely give him the advantage.

NISHIDA LEAD – Nishida and Deane initiate at almost the same time, and while Nishida is on a better line around the sweeper, Deane is staying within two car lengths of Nishida while riding the left foot brake around the entire sweeper. Deane shows much more angle coming across the switchback, then immediately sucks back in tight to Nishida around the second half of the track. Nishida has a brief brake tap midway through the second sweeper, but Deane mirrors his moves almost perfectly around the course.

Again, no major mistakes from Nishida, but Deane’s chase run is just awesome! All three judges vote for Deane to move on to the Final 4. As the top qualifier, Deane is guaranteed a podium finish.

Aasbo vs. Landreville

AASBO LEAD – The crowd is absolutely roaring before this tandem battle starts, they love their hometown driver! Aasbo has a very snappy initiation, while Landreville’s initiation is a bit slower. Landreville is only a single car length from Aasbo by midway through the sweeper, but Aasbo extends the proximity to around three car lengths by the exit of the turn with an impressive amount of steering angle. Landreville uses a shallower line to close the gap down after the switchback, then stays super tight to Aasbo around the final two turns. Landreville took out the final two clipping points, but the proximity he was able to keep on Aasbo looked fantastic!

LANDREVILLE LEAD – Landreville has a much quicker initiation on his lead, but Aasbo mirrors the initiation almost perfectly. Landreville has some impressive angle and opens up a nice gap on Aasbo through the sweeper, but Aasbo closes it down across the switchback and into the second sweeper. Landreville definitely has bigger steering angle entering the second sweeper, but Aasbo keeps the gap very close around the final two turns.

This is easily one of the best pairs of runs we’ve seen all night, and the fans are chanting to see these guys run "One More Time." We have one vote for a “One More Time,” while two judges vote for Aasbo to move on. The fans boo the decision, but Aasbo was definitely the more consistent driver through both runs. A great showing from the Canadian driver Landreville; we hope to see him at more events throughout the season!

Bluss vs. Field

BLUSS LEAD – Bluss initiates on the high line while Field is a bit shallower. Bluss extends the lead to around four car lengths; it’s pretty clear that Field is down on power (and is also missing a hood, front bumper, headlights, and who knows what else). Field briefly closes the gap down to around tow car lengths after the switchback by taking a shallower line, but Bluss extends the lead again through the second sweeper. The steering angle that Bluss is able to add around the final turn is impressive! He’s looking like the driver to beat at this point.

FIELD LEAD – Field initiates a bit later than we’ve seen from some of the other drivers, but still has good steering angle and speed. Bluss is around two car lengths behind Field, but otherwise has a slightly higher line. Field has a smooth transition across the switchback and carries good angle around the final two turns. Bluss doesn’t close the gap down much despite having a much faster car, but definitely has a better line and similar if not better steering angle across both runs. All three judges vote for Bluss to move on to the Final 4.

Gittin Jr. vs. Gushi

GITTIN JR. LEAD – Gushi was unable to repair his car, which gives Gittin Jr. a bye run into the Final 4. Gittin Jr. lays down a full pass with tons of tire smoke. Unfortunately, Gittin Jr. appears to have broken something on this run and has to be pushed off the track at the end of the run.

BLACKVUE FINAL 4

Deane vs. Aasbo

DEANE LEAD – These drivers are very familiar with each other as they have competed against each other for many years in Europe. Deane initiates very early, Aasbo initiates much later but immediately sucks in tight to Deane. Both drivers utilize a ton of left foot brake around the entire sweeper. Aasbo is never more than a car length away from Deane and appears to be just inches from Deane at a few times during the sweeper. Deane has a ton more steering angle across the switchback and briefly extends the lead, but Aasbo uses the shallower angle to close the gap again entering the second sweeper.

Deane dumps some big angle after the final transition, while Aasbo remains just a single car length from Deane. Wow, this is an impressive run from both drivers!

AASBO LEAD – Aasbo has a good initiation, Deane isn’t as early on this initiation but closes the gap quickly. Deane is just inches from Aasbo around the sweeper, both drivers mirror each other across the switchback, then Deane dumps some huge angle entering the second sweeper. Aasbo uses the big angle to pull away from Deane, opening the gap up to around five car lengths around the final two turns.

Deane was definitely the more stylish driver, but the loss in proximity was very noticeable as they crossed the finish line. All three judges vote for Aasbo to move on to the Final Battle. Deane will earn the final podium position due to his qualifying results, which will be his third of the season.

Bluss vs. Gittin Jr.

BLUSS LEAD – We find out that Gittin Jr. blew off the belt of his oil pump during his bye run, and the car ran for almost 12 seconds at wide open throttle with no oil pressure. With the short two-week turnaround to Seattle, Bluss will have a bye run into the Final 4. Bluss uses the bye run to eliminate a set of tires from his trailer, making a full pass with tons of tire smoke and steering angle. This is Bluss’s third consecutive podium; he’ll be battling Fredric Aasbo for the Final Battle!

BLACK MAGIC FINAL BATTLE 

Bluss vs. Aasbo

BLUSS LEAD – Bluss has another great initiation and has one of the highest lines along the wall of the big sweeper that we’ve seen all weekend without a major crash. Aasbo has a good initiation and line around the bank, but is around a car length and a half behind Bluss. Bluss shows big steering angle across the switchback and pushes big steering angle again into the second sweeper. Aasbo is around tow car lengths back at this point. Aasbo finally closes the gap down near the second inner clip. Bluss’s car stalls while transitioning around the final turn, and Aasbo makes contact.

Looking at the replay, this looks like there might have been a mis-shift or just a poorly timed e-brake pull that caused Bluss’s car to stop mid-transition, but likely the fault of Bluss for the collision.

AASBO LEAD – Bluss calls his competition timeout. The team looks over the car, but doesn’t look like any repairs were made. Fault was given to Bluss, but anything can happen in this run. Aasbo has a smooth and snappy initiation again, high on the wall, while Bluss has a late initiation but sucks in very tight to Aasbo very early in the sweeper. Bluss may have tapped Aasbo midway through the sweeper, but it doesn’t affect Aasbo at all. Wow, these cars are just inches from each other exiting the highest speed portion of the course; Bluss definitely isn’t holding back on this run! Bluss taps the inner clipping point on the switchback, then makes contact with Aasbo just before the second sweeper.

Bluss continues drifting briefly, but then shuts it down and circles back to check in with Aasbo. There’s a large hole in Aasbo’s door; this will likely be the fault of Bluss.

ROUND 5 FINAL STANDINGS

We have a winner! The final three drivers are brought in front of the crowd, where Fredric Aasbo is announced as the winner. This is Aasbo’s 10th event win, which makes him the winningest driver in Formula Drift history. This is only the 93rd event in Formula Drift history, and even more incredibly, this is only the 53rd event that Aasbo has competed in.

Aasbo moves up to second in the Championship chase, while Bluss moves into third place overall. Deane holds a narrow 34-point lead over Aasbo, but a more substantial 75-point lead over Aasbo. Essa, who previously held the second position entering this event, drops to fourth place overall, 109 points behind Deane, while Tuerck sits in fifth place, 121 points back.

Formula Drift slides into Evergreen Speedway in Monroe, Washington, in just two short weeks.

Stay tuned for our FD Canada photo gallery.